Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Position in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) by 21.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,751 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Telefónica were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TEF. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Telefónica by 78.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 173,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 76,657 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Telefónica by 8.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,898,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,229,000 after acquiring an additional 146,259 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Telefónica by 24.7% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 387,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 76,912 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Telefónica by 79.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 322,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 142,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Telefónica by 8.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 24,854 shares in the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TEF shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Telefónica to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Telefónica from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Telefónica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Telefónica Price Performance

Telefónica stock opened at $4.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a PE ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Telefónica, S.A. has a 12-month low of $3.82 and a 12-month high of $4.93.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.1576 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. Telefónica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -88.46%.

Telefónica Profile

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.